1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fixing device fixing a not yet fixed developer image by application of heat and pressure in an image forming apparatus such as a photocopier, a printer, and a facsimile machine employing an electrophotographic method and, more particularly, to a fixing device employing a belt member. In addition, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus employing such a fixing device.
2. Description of Related Art
A related art fixing device employing a heat roller method in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a photocopier, a printer, and a facsimile machine includes a heat roller for fixing a not yet fixed image by application of heat and pressure with a pressure roller. In addition to the related art fixing device employing the heat roller method, another related art fixing device employing a fixing belt such as a film or a belt member to fix a not yet fixed image by application of heat and pressure using a pressure roller and the fixing belt heated by a heat source contacting the fixing belt is known (e.g., Japanese Un-examined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-270345). Such a related art fixing device has an advantage of an energy saving or high start-up speed.